Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Beyond Leadership

Beyond Leadership is Horizon Point’s line of resources for managers of people. Managing ourselves is a distinct set of behaviors from managers the work of others, and we are here to help. Read stories in this category if you are ready to take the next step into people leadership (or if you’re looking for articles to send someone else…).

  • What the Dentist’s Chair Can Teach Us About Leadership

    What the Dentist’s Chair Can Teach Us About Leadership

    When have you seen psychological safety in action? A few weeks ago, my youngest son, who is fifteen, had a dentist appointment. Unlike me, my kids have always enjoyed going to the dentist—or at least not dreaded it. I was always thankful, especially when they were little, that trips to the dentist didn’t end in a meltdown. And I give a lot of credit to the pediatric dentist and her staff for that.

    They had a way of making kids feel completely at ease. What helped my son feel comfortable—even in a situation where many kids (and adults!) feel anxious—was something we talk about often in leadership: psychological safety.

    The dental team welcomed questions. They showed the kids the tools, explained what they were going to do, and used language they could understand. The unknown wasn’t scary—because it wasn’t unknown anymore. Step by step, they built trust by creating an environment where curiosity was encouraged and no question was too small.

    That approach didn’t just reduce fear—it actually made him want to be there. Psychological safety in action.

    What ‘Psychological Safety in Action’ Means for Leaders

    The same principles apply at work. If we want people to show up fully, stay engaged, and take ownership, we have to create spaces where they feel safe to ask questions, express concerns, and understand the “why” behind what we’re doing.

    Motivation isn’t about pizza parties or quick perks. It’s about creating a culture where people feel energized, committed, and able to perform at their best—a culture grounded in trust and growth.

    Why Psychological Safety Matters

    At Horizon Point, we talk a lot about psychological safety—the belief that it’s okay to speak up, ask questions, and offer ideas without fear of negative repercussions. In fact, Google’s Project Aristotle found that psychological safety is the most important factor in high-performing teams. When it’s present, employees are more likely to contribute, take initiative, and stay engaged.

    Safety Isn’t Soft—It’s Strong

    But psychological safety alone isn’t enough. Part of a psychologically safe environment is the ability to manage conflict successfully. Too often, leaders avoid conflict to “keep the peace.” But as Amy Edmondson—one of the top authorities on psychological safety—says:

    “Psychological safety is not about being nice. It’s about giving candid feedback, openly admitting mistakes, and learning from each other.”

    Kim Scott, in her book Radical Candor, builds on this idea: leaders must care personally and challenge directly. Avoiding conflict isn’t protecting your team—it’s often self-serving. It creates distrust, fuels passive-aggression and resentment, and slows innovation.

    You need both – safety and conflict management skills. A team with psychological safety but no conflict skills becomes stagnant. A team with conflict skills but no psychological safety stays silent out of fear. Psychological safety in action is the foundation; healthy conflict is the catalyst for growth.

    Lead with Vulnerability and Structure

    As leaders, we set the tone by modeling vulnerability. That means admitting mistakes, inviting feedback, and showing up even when we’re unsure. As Brené Brown says in Dare to Lead:

    “Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome.”

    By showing vulnerability as a leader, you give your team permission to do the same. Of course, this comes with guardrails:

    • Structure how concerns are raised.
    • Ensure communication is professional and constructive.
    • Recognize and reward honest feedback and collaboration—not just results.

    Motivated Teams Are Aligned, Not Always in Agreement

    Having a psychologically safe team that manages conflict well doesn’t mean everyone agrees all the time. It means team members respect each other’s different views and work through them constructively. Motivated teams aren’t always in agreement – they’re in alignment. That’s psychological safety in action.

    Books, books, books!

    Want to know more about the books Lorrie mentioned this week? Check them out on our Bookshop.org featured list:

  • What Really Motivates Employees? Lessons from Herzberg

    What Really Motivates Employees? Lessons from Herzberg

    What really motivates employees? We don’t have a straight answer for you, but we do love a good organizational psychology theory that stands the test of time—and Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation. We aren’t ready to talk about what really motivates employees until we’ve talked about what doesn’t unmotivate them (yes, we know that’s a double negative and that unmotivate isn’t a real word, but stay with us.)

    Simply Psychology puts it like this:

    Herzberg’s two-factor theory suggests that job satisfaction is influenced by two categories:

    Motivators    , like recognition and achievement, lead to higher satisfaction and motivation.

    Hygiene factors, such as salary and working conditions, prevent dissatisfaction—but don’t necessarily inspire motivation.

    In other words, motivators spark engagement and growth, while hygiene factors help employees stay neutral rather than dissatisfied. According to Herzberg, what really motivates employees are factors that can’t meaningfully exist until hygiene factors are taken care of. Both hygiene factors and motivating factors are necessary to create a productive and fulfilling work environment.

    Yikes, I’m a supervisor!

    If you’re in a supervisory role, this might sound a little discouraging—are you only responsible for preventing dissatisfaction? Can’t you inspire motivation too?

    We think you can. In fact, we’d argue that the ability to influence motivators is what helps a supervisor become a leader.

    What Really Motivates Employees: In Practice

    Here are a few practical ways you can move beyond maintenance and actually create a motivating workplace:

    1. Get to Know What Drives Each Employee
    Want to know what really motivates employees? Ask them.

    Different motivators resonate with different people. Start with our Motivation Checklist to understand what matters most to your team.

    We often use this in conjunction with DiSC training, which we highly recommend for new teams or teams experiencing disconnect. 

    2. Hold Meaningful One-on-Ones
    Use regular one-on-one conversations to explore motivators and check on hygiene factors. Ask questions like:

    • What are your career goals?
    • What kind of work energizes you—and what drains you?
    • How do you prefer to be recognized?

    Need help? Try our printable conversation cards designed for intentional check-ins. We also recommend cards from The Unstuck Box.

    3. Don’t Ignore Hygiene Factors
    In your one-on-ones, also check on basic needs:

    • Are tools, resources, and safety measures in place?
    • Are personal challenges affecting work?
    • Are compensation or benefits a concern? (Make this a point of discussion at least once or twice a year.)

    4. Support Development and Growth
    Create personal development plans that encourage ownership and responsibility. We use the Leaders as Career Agents process to guide these conversations.

    Leaders as a Bridge to Satisfaction

    Leaders who consistently invest time in these actions are more than just supervisors—they become the bridge between employee potential and job satisfaction. So… what really motivates employees? It doesn’t require big budgets or elaborate programs—just intentional conversations, consistent follow-through, and a commitment to growth.

    How are you creating engaging work environments?

    We’d love to hear what works for you.

  • 4 Steps to Fanatic Leadership Discipline

    4 Steps to Fanatic Leadership Discipline

    This post was originally published after Memorial Day weekend ten years ago. On it’s 10th anniversary, we’re bringing it back. Enjoy!

    Over Memorial Day weekend, my family spent some time at the river. Trying to stay true to actually getting some exercise, even while on vacation, I was pushing my kids in the stroller down a windy and hilly river road when we came upon a man chopping firewood, transporting in on a wheelbarrow, and putting it in a spot beside his house to store.

    It’s May in Alabama. Even at 9 am it was approaching 90 degrees with the humidity level about that high. It was hot, and it will be hot for a while, most likely until at least October. I thought this man was crazy. With no need for firewood in the near future, why would he be utilizing the vacation holiday weekend farthest away from winter this side of Easter to chop firewood? In long pants and a long shirt no less.

    I wasn’t the only one perplexed by what he was doing. After we passed him a second time, my four-year-old said, “Mommy, what is that man doing?” I responded he’s chopping and moving firewood, to which he replied, “Why?”

    But as a read, Great by Choice by Jim Collins, a book focused on leading and thriving in the midst of uncertain environments (and let’s face it, isn’t every environment uncertain in one way or another?), I realized this man just might be illustrating a key leadership principle emphasized in the book.

    This is the principle of “Fanatic Discipline” and this quote captures its sentiments:

    “Victory awaits him who has everything in order- luck people call it. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time; this is called bad luck.” Roald Amundsen (the first person to lead a team to reach the South Pole).

    It dawned on me, this is what we strive to teach leadership coaching clients by instilling consistent behaviors that lead to habits that then lead to results. In other words, we preach “fanatic discipline” by chopping your firewood before you even need it.

    If you are wanting to instill “fanatic discipline” to reach results, how do you do it?

    1.You focus on what you can control, not what you can’t. The only thing you can control is your behavior. Nothing more classically illustrates this than Stephen Covey’s Circle of Control and Influence concept (read more about it in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People). Our friend wasn’t focused on the heat, which he couldn’t control, or one to make excuses for the heat, instead he did number two….

    2. Focus on doing important behaviors regularly, not all in one bout of energy, but in a way that allows for consistent progress to be achieved (for more on this, read the chapter on “20 Mile March” in Great by Choice. I imagine our man chops a little bit of firewood every morning throughout the year, even when it is hot and even when it is a holiday, in order to have enough stored for the winter. He doesn’t wait until the first sign of a cold snap to get to chopping. Slow and steady really does win the race. As Collins states…

    “It’s about having concrete, clear, intelligent and rigorously pursued performance mechanisms that keep you on track. The 20 Mile March creates two types of self-imposed discomfort: (1) the discomfort of unwavering commitment to high performance in difficult conditions, and (2) the discomfort of holding back in good conditions.”

    3.The behavior is monitored and tracked, not the outcome. There is nothing like a good ole chart, simple and easy to keep track of your progress and actually motivate performance. The simple process and tool we have begun using for this can be found in Marshall Goldsmith’s book Triggers. As Goldsmith states, “Quantifying effort rather than outcomes reveals patterns that we’d otherwise miss.” I imagine our friend the firewood man has a chart on his fridge that he checks off on the days he does his chopping or one that he makes a tally mark on each day he chops to count how much wood he has or has left to chop (or maybe he doesn’t, but for my story’s purpose he does).

    4.When the first three things are done, we set ourselves up to achieve outcomes. I know the firewood man won’t be cold this winter. Do you often leave yourself out in the cold because you’ve focused on the outcome and not the effort or the consistent behavior to achieve the result you are looking for? I know I have.

    What is one thing you can control, start to do today, and track with “fanatic discipline” that will help you be the leader you want to be?

  • What’s Ethical Isn’t Always What’s Easy

    What’s Ethical Isn’t Always What’s Easy

    Years ago I worked for a small company that was in financial trouble. The CEO asked me to alter payroll records because the company couldn’t afford to pay employees, employer taxes, or 401k contributions. I knew the request wasn’t just unethical—it was illegal. I also knew that refusing could cost me my job–-and it did. Situations like this—where personal and professional consequences collide—are the kind of ethical gray zones HR professionals face every day.

    Ten years ago, ethics in the workplace often meant compliance training and checking boxes. Today, it’s about how values show up in hiring decisions, leadership behavior, and even how we exit employees.

    That’s why I’m excited to be leading a session this week at the Alabama SHRM Conference, diving deep into Ethics in HR. We’ll explore core ethical principles, the most common challenges HR professionals face, and how to build a practical framework for navigating tough decisions—even in complex, uncomfortable situations where there may be no clear right answer. (We’re also launching a brand new eCourse all about Ethics in HR!)

    At the same time, with increasing attention on workplace transparency, DEI, and employee well-being, HR leaders are under more pressure than ever to make ethical decisions that align with both legal standards and evolving cultural expectations.

    Have you ever been asked to bend the rules “just this once”? What did you do? Ethics in the workplace isn’t always about obvious misconduct—it’s often about subtle pressures and competing interests.

    Ethics isn’t just a one-time conversation—it’s a critical skill set that needs to be practiced, refined, and supported by policy and culture. Whether you’re new to HR or a seasoned leader, revisiting these principles can sharpen your judgment and strengthen your voice in moments that matter. Ethical leadership starts with asking the hard questions and being willing to speak up, even when it’s uncomfortable. As HR professionals, we have the opportunity—and responsibility—to model what integrity looks like in action.

    Think about a time when you were faced with an ethical dilemma or an unclear ethics in the workplace situation. What did you do? Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently? Ethical decisions in HR rarely come with applause—but it’s essential to building organizations people can trust.

    NEW! Ethics in HR eCourse

  • Lead Better: The Power of Values in Performance Management

    Lead Better: The Power of Values in Performance Management

    Last year, I had the privilege of facilitating leadership training at the managers retreat for one of our clients—a dynamic group of leaders committed to growing their impact and investing in their teams. We explored Horizon Point’s People First Method, diving into what it means to create a motivating environment where people can grow, and how to lead with empathy, appreciation, and accountability.

    This year, I had the opportunity to return and work with the same group for the same retreat. This time, we didn’t have to start from scratch—we built on the foundation we had laid and went deeper into effective performance management.

    Building on Shared Values

    We kicked things off by revisiting the key theme from last year, that leaders create the conditions for performance—not just by setting goals, but by empowering people, modeling values, and cultivating trust.

    Performance management can’t just be about metrics and compliance. At Horizon Point, we believe you can’t talk about effective teams without talking about ethics. That’s why this year’s retreat included a focus on values-based leadership and ethical behavior—how what we say we believe matches what we actually do.

    Inspired by Michael Schur’s book How to Be Perfect, we discussed the idea that ethical leadership isn’t about perfection—it’s about effort. Schur writes:

    “If we really work at finding the means of our virtues…we become flexible, inquisitive, adaptable, and better people.”

    This mindset shaped how we approached each element of effective performance management. How do you give feedback that’s honest and respectful? How do you coach someone toward growth without imposing your own agenda? How do you document performance issues in a way that is fair and factual?

    These are not just management questions—they’re ethical ones.

    Four Pillars of Effective Performance Management

    Throughout the session, we worked through four key pillars of effective performance management, using industry-specific examples and interactive activities:

    1. Clarifying Expectations and Delivering Feedback
    Using the SBI (Situation–Behavior–Impact) model, leaders practiced giving clear, actionable feedback rooted in real scenarios. For many, this exercise revealed how much clarity and tone matter—and how easily feedback can be misinterpreted when those are missing.

    We like the Center for Creative Leadership’s resources for using SBI:

    2. Coaching Conversations That Drive Development
    We explored the GROW model and discussed the differences between coaching, mentoring, and correcting. Through small group role-plays, leaders sharpened their ability to listen, ask powerful questions, and support employee growth without jumping to solutions.

    We like this resource from NYU: The GROW Framework

    3. Creating a Culture That Reflects Values
    Leaders identified what a positive culture “looks like, sounds like, and feels like,” aligning those cultural cues with their everyday behaviors. The result? A shared language for reinforcing a high-trust, high-performance environment.

    We talk a lot about values at Horizon Point, including how values can shape your performance management system.

    4. Documenting Behavior Effectively and Objectively
    We wrapped the content with a practical look at documentation. Using mini case studies, managers practiced writing clear, objective notes that could support both development and accountability—crucial in regulated environments like that of this client’s industry.

    Leading with Purpose—Together

    Honestly, my favorite part of this trip was seeing these leaders again. Because we had already built trust and rapport in our first session together, we could push further this time—having real conversations about challenges, risks, and gray areas. And as we wove values and ethics into the technical skills of effective performance management, it was clear that this wasn’t a “one and done” training. When organizations commit to long-term leadership development, the impact is exponential. You create a shared foundation, build momentum, and keep growing together.

    Whether it’s a one-time retreat or a multi-year journey like this one, our team at Horizon Point is ready to partner with you. We bring structure, strategy, and storytelling to the leadership space—making it practical, personal, and rooted in purpose.

    Let’s build something together!